Well known and familiar are weapon stations of the rotating turret genre in which an automatic weapon (one or more) are mounted, wherein the station enables both traverse movement of the weapon in the plane as well as angles of lowering or elevating the barrel of the weapon.
Such stations that constitute RCWS units are also known and familiar. RCWS is a weapon station that is usually (mostly) mounted on a self propelled platform (for example—on a watercraft or an armored combat vehicle). By means of providing a joystick, video display and operating console, the RCWS comprises all the functions which enable it to acquire targets, aim the weapon and fire at a target with high accuracy. The gunner operates while he is within the platform hull and is protected by the platform's armor, even though there exists also RCWS entities that enable a manual operation mode of the RCWS.
Chain fed automatic weapons that are mounted in such stations may also be fast firing automatic guns (cannons), for example—Hughes M230 30 mm chain gun or Alliant Techsystems Mk 44 Bushmaster II 30 mm chain gun or M242 bushmaster 25 mm chain-fed auto canon.
From the instant of firing by such automatic weapons, there exists ejection of spent cartridges from the automatic weapons that is taking place from the ejection opening that is formed in them, downwards or forward (ahead) parallel to the firing axis, in accordance with the automatic weapon being used (for the sake of completeness let it be noted that concurrently, through another opening of the weapon, the links of the chain that became empty are also ejected).
Because we are referring to automatic weapons that have a relatively high rate of fire and also relatively large caliber, then from the firing instant a substantial amount of cartridges that are of relatively large volume and weight are ejected from the automatic weapons during a short time period.
The accumulation of spent cartridges in the weapon station or its vicinity can cause a safety problem. For example, when the weapon station is located on a deck of a vessel, the accumulation of spent cartridges on the deck can expose the seamen to danger of being hit or of skidding due to encountering them.
The ejection of cartridges is also liable to impose packaging restrictions from the point of view of positioning the weapon stations. For example, when considering a watercraft that is equipped with a helicopter's landing pad, then the ejected cartridges are liable to hit in their trajectory a rotor of the helicopter, hence it is imperative to provide adequate distance between the weapon station and the landing pad.
All this and more, considerations of allowing maximum free area on the deck (space efficiency), compel positioning the weapon stations near as much as possible to the edge of the deck. The catch is that in such preferred configuration, ejection of the cartridges can lead them to be thrown off the deck, namely to the sea, in a manner that results in an environmental hazard.
Hence, there are known and familiar means and mechanisms for collecting spent cartridges (and chains' links) that are ejected by the chain fed automatic weapons. Thus for example, usage is made of crates and sacks that are located adjacent to the ejecting openings of the weapons, in a manner that the ejected cartridges fall into them (by gravitational force) or led to them by an array of chutes (flexible, rigid, or in a combination of flexible and rigid chutes) or by a relative complex means (hence expensive) for conveying empty cartridges on a propelled conveyer.
Various means for routing and collecting spent cartridges at weapon stations are described inter alia in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 8,151,684, U.S. Pat. No. 7,258,055, U.S. Pat. No. 2,956,480, U.S. Pat. No. 2,149,522, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,415,153, EP 141018, GB 725595, and GB 703320. The problem is that using these means might hamper and contradict the optimized design of the weapon stations.
Reference is made to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 constitutes a schematic illustrated example of a typical (characteristic) RCWS 10 that would serve us for demonstrating some of the restrictions that designers of means for routing and collecting ejected cartridges in an RCWS are faced with.
As a characteristic RCWS, RCWS 10 comprises a base assembly 20 that is rotatable to perform traverse type action around traverse axis 35, cradle assembly 30 that is positioned on the base assembly wherein it is connected to it in an axial mode (see axis 40) and chain fed automatic weapon 50 (the chain is not illustrated), that is affixed on cradle assembly 30 in a manner that it will be movable in rotatable motion for lowering and elevating operation around the cradle's axis 40.
In the illustrated example, weapon 50 ejects its spent cartridges in a forwards direction (in parallel to the firing axis)—see the arrow marked 55 in the figure.
Any professional in this field would understand that hanging sacks or other means for collecting spent cartridges, and this directly on cradle assembly 30, is liable to weigh heavily on the control requirements. The dynamic accumulation of relatively heavy cartridges within such collecting means would encumber the required control loop that is required for propelling and stabilizing the cradle and would mandate its dynamic updating by continuance feedback.
Another example—when the desirable location of RCWS 10 is given for the maritime configuration, at which we have already pointed at above (as near as it is possible to the edge 60 of the deck area), when we are referring to an automatic weapon as said, in which the ejection of the cartridges is forward (in parallel to the firing axis), then in the absence of an early backwards routing of the ejected cartridges, the collection of the cartridges at the front of the weapon station (in the area marked 70), is liable to pose a safety problem—to expose the personnel (the crew) that is designated to evacuate and empty the cartridges from the collection means, to the naturally, dangerous proximity of the deck's edge 60.
An additional example—routing the ejected cartridges to the region (area) that is directly under the weapon (in the region marked 80) and collecting them there, are liable to be a burden on the compact design of the weapon station. In order that that positioning of the cradle's axis 40 would indeed provide for the required collecting space and without harming the lowering/elevating capability of the weapon, such configuration is liable to compel non-desired increase of the station's height dimension (ibid, the dimension marked 90), especially so because commonly, in a characteristic RCWS, the space located under the cradle is allocated for packaging of the RCWS propelling means and control assemblies (see means 95).
Another example—even when trying to route the ejected cartridges to the rear section of the station (to the region marked 100) for being collected there, then—when an automatic weapon is considered, as said, in which the ejection of the cartridges is directed forward, (in parallel to the firing axis), elevating it unto a relatively high angle (for example 80°, see the condition marked by a broken dashed line) posts a challenge of routing the ejected cartridges from a geometrical point of view. Selecting an array of chutes—even flexible ones as a solution, would compel to overcome the need to propel the cartridges being ejected in a path (trajectory) that bypasses cradle assembly 30, (because that from the instant of elevating the cradle assembly as said—the cradle assembly 30 would be positioned between the cartridges ejection opening to the desired collection area 100 which is geometrically located in the stern area of the weapon station) or alternatively to limit the elevating angle that the weapon station provides for the weapon.
Thus, at the time (period) that preceded the invention that is the subject matter of this present application, there existed in the field of weapon stations a need of providing a reliable and relatively low priced solution to the challenge of routing and collecting the ejected cartridges. This, while maintaining the compact dimensions of the weapon station, providing capability of achieving relatively large (high) elevation angle of the weapon, without letting the routing and collecting of the ejected cartridges solution disturb and put a burden on the elevating and lowering axis, a solution that enables positioning the weapon station even at the edge of a platform's deck, and wherein the solution for routing and collecting the ejected cartridges does not require propelling or control means, namely it is a rather stand alone independent add-on means, i.e., an inert added means that does not rely on the weapon and the firing run for executing its tasks and does not compel timing with it.